In 2020, a year with strong restrictions on economic activity due to the measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, it is estimated that all regions will have registered reductions in GDP in volume, the most intense being observed in the Algarve (-16.7% ) and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira (-14.3%). The Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (-9.5%) and the Autonomous Region of the Azores (-9.2%) decreased more than the country ( 8.4%). Alentejo (-8.3%), the North (-7.0%) and the Center (-5.9%) had the least negative performances. The decrease in the GVA in the trade, transport and accommodation and restaurant sectors contributed significantly to the real contraction of GDP in the Algarve and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, being the activities most affected by restrictions imposed by the pandemic.
In 2019, all regions registered real GDP growth, highlighting the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the Algarve (3.2%) with an increase higher than that of the country (2.7%), driven by the dynamism of tourist activity.
At the level of the NUTS III regions, this year, there was a smaller regional disparity in productivity compared to 2018, with a difference of 53.2 percentage points between the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon (121.6) and the Tâmega e Sousa region (68.4).